Notion Raises $3.2M Seed Round, Led by XL Innovate, to Accelerate Deployment of its Home Awareness System

Funding from financial and strategic investors to further fuel product momentum, with over 10,000 devices already in homes

DENVER, June 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Notion, the first company to offer a complete IoT home awareness system, announced today that it has secured $3.2 million in seed funding from XL Innovate, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance Global Consumer Markets' business, and other investors. The funding will accelerate Notion's go-to-market as the company delivers on its mission to provide millions of homeowners with safety, peace-of-mind and cost savings through an elegant and cost-effective IoT solution. As part of the financing round, Martha Notaras, a partner at XL Innovate, will join the Notion board of directors.

Notion provides complete home awareness via a system of smart sensors that go far beyond expensive, limited, home security systems and complex do-it-yourself offerings. Notion's initial product is a small, multi-function sensor that provides eight powerful capabilities, including recognition of doors or windows opening, water leaks, temperature changes, smoke alarms going off and much more. A Notion home monitoring system can be up and running within five minutes or less and sends alerts to homeowners via a mobile app. The Notion system is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Traditional home security systems cost on average $2,500 over the required three-year contract period. Meanwhile, most do-it-yourself alternatives are overly complicated, resulting in a poor user experience and inadequate coverage. While insurance companies already provide discounts for security systems, the second leading cause of insurance claims is actually water leaks, causing an excess of $8 billion in losses every year (Source: ISO®, a Verisk Analytics® business). Prices for Notion start at just $129, and the system detects both unauthorized intrusions as well as water leaks.

"For years, people have been able to receive discounts on their homeowners insurance by installing a security system. However, these systems typically come with high costs, long-term contracts, and minimal functionality resulting in only about 20 percent adoption in the US," said Brett Jurgens, co-founder and CEO of Notion. "Our goal is to provide the remaining 112 million homeowners without a security system, with the smartest solution to protect their homes and families. We want to bring the promise of IoT to all homeowners by addressing their biggest needs in a readily accessible and affordable package."

Notion's promise has resonated strongly with homeowners looking for a cost effective and elegant solution to their security, surveillance, or detection needs. The company has demonstrated impressive momentum, having already sold over $500,000 worth of devices and shipped all of its crowdfunded preorders as of May 2016.

"By bringing a super smart and simple IoT solution to homeowners, Notion can change both a homeowner's experience as well as transform the property insurance industry," says Martha Notaras, Partner at XL Innovate. "Simple, reliable sensors that are easily deployed and capable of capturing relevant data can lead to a significant prevention of property damage. Homeowners benefit by having 24/7 insight into the health of their home and insurers can offer loss reduction initiatives. It's a win-win."

Notion is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and is currently selling its products in the US, Canada and parts of Europe.

About Notion:

Notion provides complete home awareness through a single multi-function sensor and mobile apps. Notion's system is a cost-effective security, water leak detection and home energy management system that empowers people to monitor what they want, when they want, all from their mobile phones. Notion's mission is to change the awareness homeowners have into their homes and neighborhood. For more information and to stay up to date, visit http://www.getnotion.com.

About XL Innovate:

XL Innovate is a venture capital fund focused on investing in companies that address the world's most complex risks with new technologies and products for the insurance industry. XL Innovate provides companies with equity capital, unparalleled experience in building new ventures in this specific space, and access to XL Catlin's global insurance expertise and underwriting. To learn more, visit www.xlinnovate.com.

About XL Group plc:

XL Group plc (NYSE:XL), through its subsidiaries and under the XL Catlin brand, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world. Clients look to XL Catlin for answers to their most complex risks and to help move their world forward. To learn more, visit www.xlcatlin.com.